1# Azure RTOS ThreadX 2 3This advanced real-time operating system (RTOS) is designed specifically for deeply embedded applications. Among the multiple benefits it provides are advanced scheduling facilities, message passing, interrupt management, and messaging services. Azure RTOS ThreadX has many advanced features, including picokernel architecture, preemption threshold, event chaining, and a rich set of system services. 4 5Here are the key features and modules of ThreadX: 6 7![ThreadX Key Features](./docs/threadx-features.png) 8 9## Getting Started 10 11Azure RTOS has been integrated to the semiconductor's SDKs and development environment. You can develop using the tools of choice from [STMicroelectronics](https://www.st.com/content/st_com/en/campaigns/x-cube-azrtos-azure-rtos-stm32.html), [NXP](https://www.nxp.com/design/software/embedded-software/azure-rtos-for-nxp-microcontrollers:AZURE-RTOS), [Renesas](https://github.com/renesas/azure-rtos) and [Microchip](https://mu.microchip.com/get-started-simplifying-your-iot-design-with-azure-rtos). 12 13We also provide [getting started guide](https://github.com/azure-rtos/getting-started) and [samples](https://github.com/azure-rtos/samples) using hero development boards from semiconductors you can build and test with. 14 15See [Overview of Azure RTOS ThreadX](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/rtos/threadx/overview-threadx) for the high-level overview, and all documentation and APIs can be found in: [Azure RTOS ThreadX documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/rtos/threadx/). 16 17Also there is dedicated [learning path of Azure RTOS ThreadX](https://learn.microsoft.com/training/paths/azure-rtos-threadx/) for learning systematically. 18 19 20## Repository Structure and Usage 21### Directory layout 22 23 . 24 ├── cmake # CMakelist files for building the project 25 ├── common # Core ThreadX files 26 ├── common_modules # Core ThreadX module files 27 ├── common_smp # Core ThreadX SMP files 28 ├── docs # Documentation supplements 29 ├── ports # Architecture and compiler specific files. See below for directory breakdown 30 │ ├── cortex_m7 31 │ │ ├── iar # Example IAR compiler sample project 32 │ │ │ ├── example build # IAR workspace and sample project files 33 │ │ │ ├── inc # tx_port.h for this architecture 34 │ │ │ └── src # Source files for this architecture 35 │ │ ├── ac6 # Example ac6/Keil sample project 36 │ │ ├── gnu # Example gnu sample project 37 │ │ └── ... 38 │ └── ... 39 ├── ports_modules # Architecture and compiler specific files for threadX modules 40 ├── ports_smp # Architecture and compiler specific files for threadX SMP 41 ├── samples # demo_threadx.c 42 └── utility # Test cases and utilities 43 44 45## Branches & Releases 46 47The master branch has the most recent code with all new features and bug fixes. It does not represent the latest General Availability (GA) release of the library. Each official release (preview or GA) will be tagged to mark the commit and push it into the Github releases tab, e.g. `v6.2-rel`. 48 49> When you see xx-xx-xxxx, 6.x or x.x in function header, this means the file is not officially released yet. They will be updated in the next release. See example below. 50``` 51/**************************************************************************/ 52/* */ 53/* FUNCTION RELEASE */ 54/* */ 55/* _tx_initialize_low_level Cortex-M23/GNU */ 56/* 6.x */ 57/* AUTHOR */ 58/* */ 59/* Scott Larson, Microsoft Corporation */ 60/* */ 61/* DESCRIPTION */ 62/* */ 63/* This function is responsible for any low-level processor */ 64/* initialization, including setting up interrupt vectors, setting */ 65/* up a periodic timer interrupt source, saving the system stack */ 66/* pointer for use in ISR processing later, and finding the first */ 67/* available RAM memory address for tx_application_define. */ 68/* */ 69/* INPUT */ 70/* */ 71/* None */ 72/* */ 73/* OUTPUT */ 74/* */ 75/* None */ 76/* */ 77/* CALLS */ 78/* */ 79/* None */ 80/* */ 81/* CALLED BY */ 82/* */ 83/* _tx_initialize_kernel_enter ThreadX entry function */ 84/* */ 85/* RELEASE HISTORY */ 86/* */ 87/* DATE NAME DESCRIPTION */ 88/* */ 89/* 09-30-2020 Scott Larson Initial Version 6.1 */ 90/* xx-xx-xxxx Scott Larson Include tx_user.h, */ 91/* resulting in version 6.x */ 92/* */ 93/**************************************************************************/ 94``` 95 96## Supported Architecture Ports 97 98### ThreadX 99``` 100arc_em cortex_a12 cortex_m0 cortex_r4 101arc_hs cortex_a15 cortex_m23 cortex_r5 102arm11 cortex_a17 cortex_m3 cortex_r7 103arm9 cortex_a34 cortex_m33 104c667x cortex_a35 cortex_m4 105linux cortex_a5 cortex_m55 106risc-v32 cortex_a53 cortex_m7 107rxv1 cortex_a55 cortex_m85 108rxv2 cortex_a57 109rxv3 cortex_a5x 110win32 cortex_a65 111xtensa cortex_a65ae 112 cortex_a7 113 cortex_a72 114 cortex_a73 115 cortex_a75 116 cortex_a76 117 cortex_a76ae 118 cortex_a77 119 cortex_a8 120 cortex_a9 121``` 122 123### ThreadX Modules 124[Azure RTOS ThreadX Modules](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/rtos/threadx-modules/chapter1) component provides an infrastructure for applications to dynamically load modules that are built separately from the resident portion of the application. 125``` 126cortex_a35 127cortex_a35_smp 128cortex_a7 129cortex_m0+ 130cortex_m23 131cortex_m3 132cortex_m33 133cortex_m4 134cortex_m7 135cortex_r4 136rxv2 137``` 138 139### ThreadX SMP 140[Azure RTOS ThreadX SMP](https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/rtos/threadx/threadx-smp/chapter1) is a high-performance real-time SMP kernel designed specifically for embedded applications. 141``` 142arc_hs_smp 143cortex_a34_smp 144cortex_a35_smp 145cortex_a53_smp 146cortex_a55_smp 147cortex_a57_smp 148cortex_a5x_smp 149cortex_a5_smp 150cortex_a65ae_smp 151cortex_a65_smp 152cortex_a72_smp 153cortex_a73_smp 154cortex_a75_smp 155cortex_a76ae_smp 156cortex_a76_smp 157cortex_a77_smp 158cortex_a78_smp 159cortex_a7_smp 160cortex_a9_smp 161linux 162``` 163 164## Adaptation layer for ThreadX 165 166Azure RTOS ThreadX is an advanced real-time operating system (RTOS) designed specifically for deeply embedded applications. To help ease application migration to Azure RTOS, ThreadX provides [adaption layers](https://github.com/azure-rtos/threadx/tree/master/utility/rtos_compatibility_layers) for various legacy RTOS APIs (FreeRTOS, POSIX, OSEK, etc.). 167 168## Component dependencies 169 170The main components of Azure RTOS are each provided in their own repository, but there are dependencies between them, as shown in the following graph. This is important to understand when setting up your builds. 171 172![dependency graph](docs/deps.png) 173 174> You will have to take the dependency graph above into account when building anything other than ThreadX itself. 175 176### Building and using the library 177 178Instruction for building the ThreadX as static library using Arm GNU Toolchain and CMake. If you are using toolchain and IDE from semiconductor, you might follow its own instructions to use Azure RTOS components as explained in the [Getting Started](#getting-started) section. 179 1801. Install the following tools: 181 182 * [CMake](https://cmake.org/download/) version 3.0 or later 183 * [Arm GNU Toolchain for arm-none-eabi](https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/arm-gnu-toolchain-downloads) 184 * [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org/) 185 1861. Cloning the repo 187 188 ```bash 189 $ git clone https://github.com/azure-rtos/threadx.git 190 ``` 191 1921. Define the features and addons you need in `tx_user.h` and build together with the component source code. You can refer to [`tx_user_sample.h`](https://github.com/azure-rtos/threadx/blob/master/common/inc/tx_user_sample.h) as an example. 193 1941. Building as a static library 195 196 Each component of Azure RTOS comes with a composable CMake-based build system that supports many different MCUs and host systems. Integrating any of these components into your device app code is as simple as adding a git submodule and then including it in your build using the CMake `add_subdirectory()`. 197 198 While the typical usage pattern is to include ThreadX into your device code source tree to be built & linked with your code, you can compile this project as a standalone static library to confirm your build is set up correctly. 199 200 An example of building the library for Cortex-M4: 201 202 ```bash 203 $ cmake -Bbuild -GNinja -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/cortex_m4.cmake . 204 205 $ cmake --build ./build 206 ``` 207 208## Professional support 209 210[Professional support plans](https://azure.microsoft.com/support/options/) are available from Microsoft. For community support and others, see the [Resources](#resources) section below. 211 212## Licensing 213 214License terms for using Azure RTOS are defined in the LICENSE.txt file of this repo. Please refer to this file for all definitive licensing information. No additional license fees are required for deploying Azure RTOS on hardware defined in the LICENSED-HARDWARE.txt file. If you are using hardware not defined in the LICENSED-HARDWARE.txt file or have licensing questions in general, please contact Microsoft directly at https://aka.ms/azrtos-license. 215 216## Resources 217 218The following are references to additional Azure RTOS resources: 219 220- **Product introduction and white papers**: https://azure.com/rtos 221- **General technical questions**: https://aka.ms/QnA/azure-rtos 222- **Product issues and bugs, or feature requests**: https://github.com/azure-rtos/threadx/issues 223- **Licensing and sales questions**: https://aka.ms/azrtos-license 224- **Product roadmap and support policy**: https://aka.ms/azrtos/lts 225- **Blogs and videos**: http://msiotblog.com and https://aka.ms/iotshow 226- **Azure RTOS TraceX Installer**: https://aka.ms/azrtos-tracex-installer 227 228You can also check [previous questions](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/azure-rtos+threadx) or ask new ones on StackOverflow using the `azure-rtos` and `threadx` tags. 229 230## Security 231 232Azure RTOS provides OEMs with components to secure communication and to create code and data isolation using underlying MCU/MPU hardware protection mechanisms. It is ultimately the responsibility of the device builder to ensure the device fully meets the evolving security requirements associated with its specific use case. 233 234## Contribution 235 236Please follow the instructions provided in the [CONTRIBUTING.md](./CONTRIBUTING.md) for the corresponding repository.